Protecting you: ShinoHina
by Ashi-Mitsuga
Summary: Shino and Hinata are now in a relationship and things couldn't be better for the two, but there are still some things that Hinata is keeping from him. Her father beats her every time she doesn't live up to his expectations, making her feel trapped and unsure what else to do. what happens when Shino finds out? Is there more going on in the Hyuga clan than what meets the public eye?
1. Chapter 1 (Karma)

**A/N: ( _The title was changed to fit more, and the 1st and 2nd chapters were re-written)_ Warnings include (kinda-graphic violence) continue.**

Hinata walked through the almost vacant streets of Konoha, her boots trudging through the snow that blanketed the ground.

It was the beginning of December and most people preferred to stay inside and shield themselves from the harsh cold that fell during this time of year. But unlike most, Hinata loved the winter. she enjoyed taking walks during the cold mornings just admiring the beauty that only she saw in the snow covered sidewalks and houses.

Hinata shivered a little. even with the warmth of her heavy winter coat couldn't protect her from the chilly wind that blew into her face, causing her to close her pale eyes to protect them from the icy breeze.

Tiny snowflakes landed on her pale cheeks and reddened nose as she continued on her way. in her hand was a brown paper bag she had picked up from the coffee shop a few blocks back. she held the opening of the bag closed to keep the cold air from coming in and occasionally switched which hand she was carrying it in and shoving the other in her pocket for warmth.

Finally, she came to a stop her lavender eyes looking up at the gates to the Aburame Household. she let a smile reach her face and pushed them open allowing her to pass through before closing the gates behind her. the creak they made as she did, caused her to cringe a little and her ears to scream in protest.

Hinata continued walking, her boots making a crunching sound as they dug through the thin layer of snow that covered the stone beneath of the path way to the door.

She raised her free arm up to the large double doors and knocked twice hearing the sound echo and bounce off the walls from somewhere behind it. She heard shuffling footsteps from inside until one of the doors opened. Only luck could explain the fact that Shino was the one to answer, he was in his usual jacket the collar hiding the lower half of his face and his usual pair of goggles hid his eyes.

She smiled warmly at her boyfriend feeling more relieved to see him than ever.

"Hello, Shino-kun. I came to see you"

Shino only nodded, but unknown to her was a small smile that he hid behind his collar.

"Come inside, I don't want you catching a cold" he moved to the side letting her enter and closing the door behind her. Hinata sighed as warmth surrounded her and the snow that had fallen on her coat melting.

Together they walked down the halls to his room, once they reached his bedroom door he opened it and let her walk inside first before stepping in himself, closing the door behind them.

Hinata turned to face him, the paper bag now visible.

"I brought hot chocolate as well" She brought it because she knew he loved it, that's all the Aburame drank during this time of year, besides Tea of course.

"That's sweet of you Hime, Thank you" He helped her take off the heavy coat and hung it up for it to dry. she had been unable to wear her purple jacket under it so she settled for a Lavender colored sweater instead, and her cozy blue sweatpants

Hinata stepped out of her boots setting them by the door so they were out of the way. She hugged him sighing as he hugged her back after a few moments, Shino smiled slightly as he breathed in the familiar scent of lavender.

She pulled away and pulled out the two cups of hot chocolate handing one to her boyfriend and taking a sip of hers.

The two drank their hot chocolate in a comfortable silence choosing not to acknowledge the fact that they were standing rather awkwardly in the middle of the room. Hinata felt Shino's arm wrap around her waist and pull her towards the window, she let out an adorable squeak of surprise and Shino was unable to resist grinning at her unawareness from behind his collar.

He sat down on the couch by the window pulling Hinata into his lap. She giggled softly, taking another sip of her hot beverage and leaning back to rest her back against his chest.

 _Shino-kun must be in a playful mood today_. She thought a pleased smile reaching her face as her cheeks tinted red. Hinata always savored moments like these when Shino wasn't so serious all the time. it was...nice. It wasn't that he wasn't normally affectionate, he was just always worried about making her uncomfortable.

She then realized he had not worn his green jacket over the dark gray high collared one, so his arms were visible without the sleeves of his overcoat. He must have gotten too warm and chose to not wear it.

An idea popped into her head and she set her half full cup on the windowsill turning herself around in his lap to face him. Shino looked at her for a moment curious as to why she moved. She reached up to the zipper of his jacket then unzipping it completely revealing the lower half of his face and the shirt he wore beneath.

"Hinata?" she ignored him and instead pulling herself closer to him and snuggling into his chest burying her face into the crook of his neck careful not to disturb any of the Kikaichu.

"Is something wrong?" he set down his cup as well wrapping an arm around her.

Hinata smiled listening to the comforting buzzing sound of the Kikaichu beneath his skin. Any other girl in Konoha would probably shriek and cringe in disgust at the mere sight of a bug, but not Hinata. She had never feared insects especially his, and she knew that the bugs were a part of him, and she accepted _all_ of who he was.

"No, you're just so warm" She rubbed her pale cheek against his chest affectionately. She looked up to see him smile a little, a dull blush rising to his face. it was a rare sight and only she saw any of his smiles, but she cherished each one even if they were subtle, knowing she makes him smile is enough.

Hinata pulled away just a little her eyes still on him, before gathering up enough courage to reach up to grab the frames of his goggles and stopping looking at him silently asking permission. when he made no move to protest or move her hand away she removed the goggles from his face setting them down on the windowsill as well.

She was overjoyed to see those beautiful dark brown eyes she loved so much, Hinata always felt giddy upon seeing Shino's eyes, who couldn't while staring into eyes like those?

Hinata had seen them before, but couldn't help but admire his eyes whenever she saw them. they were pupil-less much like hers, but that could be because his were so dark. she stared for a few more moments before snuggling into his chest again warmth surrounding her once again as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her close and resting his chin on her head.

Hinata then frowned upon remembering what had happened earlier that day. she had run into Ino earlier and...it didn't go so well.

 _Hinata was running as fast as her legs could take her doing her best not to run into anyone. she had to hurry if she was going to make it to her medical training with Tsunade on time. she had lost track of time and now was regretting it knowing that Tsunade was a strict woman and tardiness isn't going to get her on her good side. Tsunade had taken the initiative to aid her along with sakura with personal healing classes, a rare opportunity Hinata just couldn't refuse._

 _unfortunately, she bumped into Ino, full-force knocking both her and the blonde with arms full of freshly cut flowers into a puddle of snow and slush on the ground in a heap of limbs and flower petals._

 _Ino got up irritably growling at the sight of her now wet clothes._

 _"Hinata! watch where you're-" Ino gasped in horror. all her new flowers were ruined falling apart in the slush they landed in. Hinata got up and saw the ruined bundles of roses, daffodils, pansies, also many more assortments of flowers and Ino's distressed expression._

 _"O-oh my..._ I-ino _! I'm so S-sorry I didn't mean t-" The bashful Hyuga was cut off by her fuming mutual._

 _Ino scowled at the stammering Hinata, now furious._

 _"Now look what you've done! it took me hours to order all these! they were going to be put in a special request I got this morning!"_

 _Hinata hung her head low with guilt as she was yelled at by the angry blonde. Ino wouldn't have normally yelled at Hinata if not for her stressful morning, and the work that now needed to be done to get the full order replaced._

 _"Can't you do anything right?! for fucks sake! you know for someone in such a high position as you and your uptight clan, you sure turned out to be a disappointment!" Ino knew she was crossing the line by mentioning her status in the Hyuga clan, but was much too tired and blinded by anger to consider Hinata's feelings right now._

 _"Now I've gotta re-order these, cancel everything else today, and change because of your clumsiness!" Hinata forced herself to maintain eye-contact with Ino, her eyes stung as she held back the strong urge to cry as she allowed Ino to finish screaming._

 _"-and next time watch where you're going!" With that said-or rather yelled- Ino stomped off grumbling to herself._

 _Hinata wasn't the worthless, good for nothing baby she was as a genin, she was stronger now, stronger than this she told herself as her_ _will won over her tears and she trembled in the effort not to let the words of Ino break her more, but failed as she drowned in the painfully truthful things the blonde had said._

 _Old Hinata would have cried right there even fainted from the anxiety,_ _instead, she held in her tears as she rose to her feet and ran. The cold air stung as she desperately ran through the snow, and her now damp coat only made things worse._

 _She finally reached the Hyuga estate and barged through the gates and immediately and headed towards her room. but, as if karma had come to terrorize her, she ran into her father before she could reach the sanctuary of her room._

 _Hiashi had proceeded to scold her for running so carelessly in the halls, and then start to belittle her for all that she was worth, calling her weak for being such a disgrace to the family name. his discrimination filled her ears only adding to her misery, weighing heavy on her heart as she struggled to keep her tears at bay._

 _After that, he had proceeded take out his anger on her. blows to her stomach came one after the other and Hinata could do nothing but endure as he beat her until she was a heap on the wood floor clutching her stomach struggling to breathe properly. Hiashi then let out a bitter scoff, looking at her as if she was being dramatic calling her a worthless brat before leaving her there shaken and trembling._

 _Hinata had wished to die right there and then, just to make all the pain stop. after laying there helplessly for a long moment she finally gained enough strength to pull herself off the ground and stumble into her room slamming the door shut and sliding to the floor her back against the door._

 _She then cried her heart out. she continuously asked herself why she was so weak, why she had to take the abuse, why she had gotten so worked up from Ino who hadn't deserved to have most of her day ruined._

 _She had cried until she couldn't anymore, there weren't any tears left to cry. after that she just sat against the door slowly pulling herself together so she could get in the shower to wash away all the blood and soothe the pounding in her head._

 _Hinata had then treated all the cuts and bruises_ _and found that her ribs were bruised. She tended to the wound the best she could before wrapping her torso in a thick layer of gauze, she flinched and bit down on her lip as the process deemed a bit painful._

 _She erased all evidence of the entire encounter with her father, relieved that her face had not been touched so she wouldn't have to worry about any questions or suspicion. Hinata thanked her long sleeves and hair for covering the damaged to her arms, stomach and the back of her neck._

 _Hinata threw on her coat and boots, crept out of the gates unnoticed, and then went for a walk to calm her nerves._

 _She had walked for hours just enjoying the feel of the cool air against her red face. she had avoided any of her friends when they passed by telling them she wanted to be alone and thankfully they did, and she went on with her day._

 _Until she found herself buying hot chocolate and paying a much-needed visit to her lover, she knew she felt the safest around Shino._

Hinata bit her lip regretting even thinking about the day's earlier events feeling tears prick her eyes. Shino felt her start to tremble and lifted his chin and looked down at her. She looked as if she was about to cry, he felt his stomach twist as he realized she was upset.

Shino didn't like it when she was even the slightest bit upset and he loathed every moment she was unhappy.

"Hina-hime what's wrong?" she raised her hands to her face quickly wiping the tears that had started to fall, she cursed at herself in her head for forgetting to be cautious about letting Shino suspect she was sad.

"N-nothing! I'm f-fine... I'm just t-tired" She lied, the twinge of guilt already beginning to swirl inside her. oh how she hated lying to Shino, it was not only wrong but difficult. Shino was smart and could see through any lie not thought out. Hinata tried to cover up how she truly felt with a smile. But Shino was no fool, he knew when Hinata was upset and he was going to find out why.

"Hinata, I know when something is bothering you...please tell me what's wrong. I promise you can tell me."

Hinata didn't know what to do, Shino didn't know anything about her father beating her or the constant cruelty she received from the Hyuga family, and she had always been too afraid to tell him. it's not that she didn't trust him, she did, with all her heart, but...she didn't trust her father. Shino might try to do something about it, and who knows what her father would do if he found out she told anyone.

She was suddenly filled with dread as she imagined what her father was capable of doing if he ever did find out, most certainly he would take it out on her or even go after Shino.

That's when she broke. she was unable to hold back her tears any longer and they streamed down her face like wax on a candle. She buried her face in her hands ashamed of herself for being such a crybaby. this only worried Shino more who was already confused as it is. he held her close whispering comforting words to her trying to calm her down. his hand then brushed over a bad bruise from earlier from under the fabric of her sleeve.

She whimpered sucking in a sharp breath at the pain that followed. Shino tensed and he removed his hand and eyed the spot before lifting the sleeve of her sweater. there where he had touched was a series of dark bruises on her forearm, some still a bit red.

"Hinata, what happened to your arm?" she sniffled her now tear-filled lavender eyes widened in horror staring back at him. Shino lifted her other sleeve revealing more bruised skin and a red hand mark causing him to cringe as despair to swarm inside him, his Kikaichu began to move in a mild panic.

"Who did this to you?"

Hinata looked down unable to meet his eyes. She'd really done it now..., now Shino knew something was up, and there was no way she could say it happened on a mission or training, Shino was there along with Kiba, so there wouldn't be a way for her to hurt herself without them knowing.

"Hina-Hime, please I need to know who did this to you" He pleaded with her lifting her chin with his hand. There was no way out of this one there was no way she could lie to him. She had to tell him...

 **A/N: Holy shit I think the angst is coming back to me now ;A; , I fixed the story up a bit if that's why it seems different. any Grammar errors should be gone, along with better wording.**

 **Also, this will be an ongoing story. I apologize for the long wait btw, I'm fixing up the chapters i have and am going to continue writing this now ^^.**


	2. Chapter 2 (A lot of Explaining to do)

**A/N: Warnings include (Mentions of violence, and Mildy sensitive topics)**

Shino deserved to know. he had seen bruises and cuts on her arms and face before, but she had always insisted that they were from previous missions, as skeptical as he was considering it wasn't often Hinata was hurt without him or Alina knowing. But he really regretted dimissing his concerns those times, he could have done something-anything to help.

All Shino knew now was that he needed to find out what Hinata hasn't been telling him, who or what had caused those bruises.

"Hinata..." He pushed on further not willing to stand down until she told him what was going on, the tone of his voice making that clear.

Hinata looked up finally meeting his eyes and took a shaky breath, was she really going to say this? how would she even begin?

"Shino...y-you know how I s-said my f-father tells me I'm not fit to be Heiress and-..." She couldn't do it. It would break his heart if he knew that her father did this to her. She stopped short letting out a trembling breath and lowering her head.

"Hina...did you do this to yourself?" Shino's voice came out uneasy as if it was a hard thing to get out, he clenched his teeth as he tried to keep calm.

She jolted her face towards him with a look of panic.

"W-what!? N-no I would never!" She was surprised he would even suggest that she would ever intentionally hurt herself, sure it was a worthy concern and she'd be lying if she said she'd never _thought_ about it... but she never went through with it, partially out of fear and the other part was she'd always think about how she could hurt Shino if she did it.

Shino seemed to calm down a bit at her response glad that it wasn't the case.

"Okay Hina, I was only making sure..." He hugged her close not only to calm her, but himself as well. Shino wasn't taking this whole ordeal very well either, his Kikaichu where buzzing anxiously trying to figure out the reason for the sudden off-ness of his vitals.

Shino didn't want to upset her he really didn't... but he can tell she needs to let something out, if he's going to get the full truth he might need to be patient and let her get things out at her own pace, so he will.

"Then...Who hurt you?" his tone was soft, but obviously on edge, he was pissed. not angry at her, but at whoever had dared to touch Hinata.

What kind of monster would dare to hurt such an innocent thing like Hinata? She was gentle and kind. and not once has she ever done anybody wrong, she was a sensitive but strong woman that had not only proven herself worthy to be a ninja, but still remains the sweet Hinata from her Genin years. and the mere thought of someone damaging that kind of beauty was enough to make even someone as composed and emotionally firm as him, to wish pain onto whoever hurt her.

If anyone knew the Aburame family well...they were indeed feared because of their insect-infested bodies and jutsu, but also a reputation of silently "dealing with" anyone to wrong a member of the family or loved ones outside of it.

The Aburame clan is only closed off and secretive because of the common assumptions that they lack emotion and are strange or in-human because of the Insects that reside in their bodies rather than most jutsu.

And Shino was no different than any other in his clan, meaning it was only natural to feel obligated to pay a "visit" to whoever the hell did this to his hime, defintely a strange feeling to have.

Hinata took a deep breath for she believed she was going to need it if she was ever going to get this out.

"M-my...Fa-..." She exhaled then inhaled her voice cracking already.

"My F-fa...My Father!" She finally blurted out before breaking down in his arms unable to hold back her sobs and tears of misery she miraculously still had left in her.

"Your _Father_ did this to _you_?" Shino was utterly shocked, he didn't know what to say. He of course knew that the Hyuga clan was cruel about expectations and especially towards Hinata considering she was heiress and all, but never would he ever could have imagined such things were happening behind those walls and closed doors.

Hinata had run to him literally reduced to tears and broken sobs many times before, and he would comfort her as she told him everything that her father had said to her. he would hold her until she would fall asleep and he would either take her home with him or stay there with her until he too drifted off.

But he never thought Hiashi would go so far as to beat his own daughter for not being up to expectations. That was low even of Hiashi, and downright heartless. And it made his blood boil as he grew increasingly more shaken, his hand clenched tightly behind her back so hard his knuckles began to turn white.

Hinata shook as sobs and uncontrolled hiccups racked her body, and although the tears began to slow, it was only because she was running out of tears to cry. if anything her despair deepened as she began to panic.

"I-I'm Sorry! Please d-don't tell any-*Hic*-one! I'm S-sorry!" Shino brought as much of himself back to reality as he could as he rubbed her back in small circles his other hand reaching up to stroke her hair. Hinata shuddered finally falling limply into Shino, her face buried in his neck and her arms trembling as they squeezed around his waist.

"Why didn't...why didn't you tell me?" Hinata dreaded this question would come, she knew she had hurt him by not telling him about this, he must think she didn't trust him.

"I-i...I was a-afraid, if my father were to find o-out. he would... and i... I didn't want him to hurt you. and i-i knew that... that it would kill you if y-you knew..." Hinata sighed and rested her cheek on his shoulder a pounding headache already present from all the crying and most likely- the lack of liquids in her body from all of it.

She seemed to calm down a bit, her breathing beginning to steady as Shino himself tried to keep his own at a steady pace. some of his Kikaichu had retreated from the holes in his skin and crawled about some in confusion others moving from his arms to Hinata's.

Hinata smiled weakly at this remembering Shino telling her a few times when she had been crying or upset before, that when he was worried about her, the Kikaichu were worried too, the thought warmed a small part of her at the memory.

"It's alright Hinata, all that matters is you're safe now..." Shino bit his lip as he considered not telling anyone as she had requested, but knew that it would be best if at least his father knew, since he didn't intend to let Hinata go home anytime soon, not alone anyways.

Shino supposed it wasn't wise to talk about that right now, not when she was finally starting to calm down.

"And he's not going to hurt you anymore, I'll be sure of it.." Hinata seemed a bit uneasy by this getting the idea that Shino was very serious about that, Shino noticed this and hugged her closer to him, it was probably unusual for her to be promised things, and actually have them be kept. hopefully, she knew that Shino would never break such a promise or any others he had made or have yet to make.

"Thank you, Shino-kun...I love you" Shino flushed a smile tugging at the corners of his lips and he pressed a kiss to Hinata's forehead caressing a bruise on her arm.

"I love you too, hime..." _so much_...Shino looked down at her arms again grimacing at the sight of the dark bruising and scratches.

"Hina, can you show me where he hurt you?" She was silent for a moment, but then nodded scooting back a bit.

She lifted her sleeves up to her shoulders revealing more purple and blue bruises. Shino's face twisted in a grimace even having to suck in a breath as his eyes scanned over the scattered damages. Hinata lifted her sweater up only to uncover her stomach wrapped tightly in gauze, He could see the bruising even surpassed to the edges were the bandages stopped

"Does it hurt?" Hinata adverted her gaze for a moment and then nodded.

"Yes, but only a little...I'm used to it "His heart dropped when she said this. what she meant was her father had done this to her before, and he wouldn't be surprised if it was during her childhood as well.

"Why do you let him?" She raised her head not totally understanding what he meant by it.

"Why do you let him do this to you?" She dropped her head in shame. to be honest, she too asked herself this question, but she already knew the answer. she just didn't want to accept the sad truth.

"There's nothing I-I _can_ do about it Shino...you're the only person I have ever told" For any other reason he would have been proud to hear this... if it wasn't about something like this.

"What about Neji?" as far as he knew Neji cared about Hinata and wouldn't allow such a thing to happen unless he didn't know.

" N-No, Neji has n-no idea, I don't want the same thing happening to him" She had a point...no doubt if Neji tried to interfere he might get the same treatment.

And Neji being...well, Neji would _let_ the punishment carry on to himself, he was much too loyal to the clan and that being said, would even try to take Hinata's punishment. Well unless Tenten were to find out, she wasn't very tolerant to something as ridiculous as that.

Neji and Tenten had become close after all, and are most- likely in more than just team mates. he chuckled half-heartedly to himself, also another rare occurrence. Hinata looked up her big eyes staring at him questionably.

"What's so funny?" she asked curiously their earlier talk staring to move into the back of her mind. He looked down at her adorable face letting his lips twitch upward slightly.

"hm, nothing... just thinking. do you think Neji or Tenten is the man in the relationship...?" It was unlike Shino to have crude humor, though it didn't mean it didn't happen. he heard a soft laugh come from the smaller girl curled up against him, he closed his eyes savoring the sweet sound becoming mesmerized by the beauty of it.

One of the many things he loved about her was her laugh, it always made him feel warm inside. hearing her laugh always brightened up his day, no matter how shitty or exhausting. She was truly a unique girl and he was lucky to have her, sometimes he asked himself if it was really real, if she was actually his. it seemed almost too good to be true for someone like him.

Hinata leaned forward brushing her lips against his for a moment before pressing her lips to his fully after a few short moments. They pulled apart and Hinata began trailing butterfly kisses from his fore head and down his cheeks, her kisses getting slower and longer as she went. Shino's face was bright red by now as he was both embarrassed but enjoying the affection. she finally kissed the corner of his mouth, and he turned his head to kiss her fully before pulling apart once again for air.

The bug user felt the indigo haired girl nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck her arms wrapping around his mid-section. he snaked an arm around her bruised, and bandaged stomach softly caressing the sore blotches of skin beneath. She sighed contently as his other hands tangled in her hair as ran his fingers through her silky hair.

Shino noticed her breathing become slower and her body leans against his indicating she had fallen asleep. He sat there with her sound asleep in his arms for a bit longer before standing up with her scooped up in his arms. He set her down on his bed and laid down next to her pulling her against him and wrapping his arms around her. He nuzzled his face into the back of her shoulder before drifting off soon after.

Hinata woke up a few hours later with Shino still curled around her. he had one arm wrapped protectively around her waist not too tightly to aggravate her ribs, but still secure, while his other hand was resting by her cheek pressed to the mattress, tangled in the indigo hair that resided there. She smiled warmly a soft blush rising to her face as she turned in his arms to face him.

As soon as she moved the arm around her tightened and Shino nuzzled into her hair ]causing her to blush then giggle quietly at how cute he was when he was asleep. she reached up to lightly caress his face before running her fingers through his hair.

She heard him let out a content sigh in and felt him pull her closer to him. if that was even do-able anymore...she was pressed against him as much as humanly possible. She then realized they had slept through the entire late afternoon and through the window, she could see that the sky was just starting to dim. oh well...at least they don't have to worry about not getting enough sleep for tomorrow's training.

Hinata placed an affectionate kiss on her lover's forehead smiling as her eye-lids grew heavy once again, she had no idea how she was tired again considering she had slept for at least two or more hours. but then again, Team 8 hasn't been getting much good sleep due to the last mission they had been on. Shivers ran down her spine at the mere thought of the scarring events from what was supposed to be a simple job.

Hinata yawned shifting slightly where she laid and trying not to think back to that mission-

"Go back to sleep, Hime" Shino's voice suddenly spoke thick with sleep, Hinata jumped slightly but relaxed upon realizing who the voice belonged to, though it would've been already obvious since Shino was the only one that called her Hime.

"mhf...okay" She whispered back and rested her face against his chest as he shifted resting his chin on top of her head, and drifting off again.

 **A/N: you have no idea how long it took to re-write this chapter... anyways despite ridiculously long time this story has been dormant (i think like...two years?) anyways i'm really sorry about that! i'm continuing this story now, and hopefully get to finish it too (however many chapters i do or where i go with this story)**


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